Turkey to hold off on attacks against Kurds until U.S. visit

Published: Saturday, October 27, 2007

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIAASSOCIATED PRESS

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkey's leadership will hold off on ordering an offensive against Kurdish guerrilla bases in northern Iraq until the prime minister visits Washington early next month, the military chief said Friday.

The country's civilian leaders, meanwhile, said they were not satisfied with proposals from Iraq's U.S.-backed government for dealing with Turkish Kurd separatist fighters who take shelter across the border.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to travel to Washington on Nov. 5 to meet with President Bush in what is widely expected to be the climax of frantic diplomatic activity aimed at averting a major Turkish incursion.

Military momentum and public calls for action are building in Turkey, fueled by rebel attacks that have killed dozens this month. Turkish aircraft reportedly bombed more suspected rebel hideouts inside Turkey on Friday, and big crowds gathered across the nation this week demanding a crackdown.

A military campaign in northern Iraq worries Washington because it could upset one of the few relatively tranquil areas in Iraq. It also would put the U.S. in an awkward position between key allies: NATO member Turkey on one side and the Baghdad government and the north's self-governing Iraqi Kurds on the other.

For months, Turkey has repeatedly demanded more help from the United States and Iraq in its fight against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, known by its Kurdish acronym PKK. The group, which has been fighting for autonomy for the predominantly Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey since 1984, is labeled a terrorist group by Washington and the European Union.